In this article, we will look at recent film industry developments across various parts of Africa. As well as how the UK has responded to this rise, and how it impacts both audiences and filmmakers.

Africa’s Film Boom

Over the past few decades, the film industries of various African countries have become more prominent. Both locally and on the world stage. Nigeria is recognised as being one of the world’s biggest film industries. With reports saying production numbers are around 2500 films a year. Senegal has seen a revival in international cinematic attention thanks to the work of filmmakers like Mati Diop. Ghana is seeing around 600 films completed each year. Other countries, like South Africa, have thriving film production sectors, while Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and more have their own unique cinematic footprint. Producing hundreds of local films a year. UNESCO said in 2022 that filmmaking accounts for around $5 billion of GDP across the continent.

The cinema of various African countries has also been prominently spotlighted to English-speaking audiences, thanks to things like Netflix’s investment in and distribution of films from across the continent, high-profile companies like A24 providing distribution deals for certain releases and big film festivals giving space for the work of African filmmakers from various countries. So with so many films being made and so much attention being paid to the continent’s films, why is it still hard for UK audiences to see them?

The UK & African Film

Around 2.9% of the UK population identifies as African in some way. International cinema has also continued to prove itself at the UK box office in recent years. It therefore seems odd that more stories made by various African countries are not widely screened across the country. Additionally, although films made across Africa have a presence on UK streaming sites, the selection is often limited. Popular services like BBC iPlayer, All4 and ITVX either make titles hard to find or have little to no titles at all. 

Critics have noted that the reason for this is the entrenched racism of Western film industries. As seen in the UK, this can manifest in many ways. Some distributors won’t show films produced in Africa at all, whether conscious or not, the result is the same. Exhibitors can also limit screenings of African films to only a few titles. Contributing to a flattened image of Africa rather than showcasing the continent’s diversity. Additionally, many distributors often select films that play well to a global audience to maximise profit. Meaning cultural specificity is lost. This can also result in filmmakers reducing a film’s cultural identity to appeal to distributors.

All this results in a limited number of films made throughout Africa reaching potential audiences in the UK. This leads to African filmmakers and diaspora audiences being isolated from the industry, with filmmakers not allowed to assert their identity as part of the global community, and diaspora audiences are unable to connect with stories related to their culture and history. To say nothing of the harm that can arise when cultures are misunderstood and misrepresented.

More Must Be Done 

Considering that, according to people like Carmen Thompson of Aya Films, “the demand is definitely there and the content is being made,” more needs to be done to pressure distributors and exhibitors to show films made in Africa to diaspora audiences in the UK.

However, if this era of rising awareness has taught us anything, it’s that media corporations and UK exhibition structures can’t be trusted to make this change on their own. To ensure fairer showcasing of films made in Africa, cooperation rather than profit needs to be the central motivating factor. Many community-led initiatives have been bringing films from Africa to the diaspora and beyond for years. Support for these initiatives and new ones that prioritise the development and distribution of African films must be intensified to showcase the reach these films have. At the same time, power must be kept with the filmmakers to allow their stories to be told how they want.

The post Africa on Screen, Britain in the Audience: Is the UK Still Missing the Pan-African Wave? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Shrinking & Growing

The streaming market is huge. According to Uswitch, over two-thirds of UK households have access to an SVoD service. On average, according to Barclays, customers spend £175 a year on film and TV subscriptions. Netflix is the most popular streaming service. Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, Now TV and BBC iPlayer also have a big reach, with many smaller services also available. Many of these services have access to a sizable library of content. However, this era of streaming has its problems.

Customers now have to pay more for ad-free viewing, which used to be the standard streaming experience. To watch Netflix without ads now costs £12.99 a month, up from £9.99 in 2021. Studios have also increasingly gated off content for their own streaming services, requiring audiences to pay for multiple subscriptions to access all the content they want. The increasing prioritisation of exclusive content owned by streaming companies (e.g. What’s On Netflix says around 54% of Netflix’s UK content is Netflix Originals) means a less diverse selection for viewers. The crackdown on things like password sharing has also restricted access for customers. Plus, considering the average time spent watching an SVoD service (as of 2023) was 38 minutes a day, with live TV watchtime being almost triple that and social media competing for young people’s attention, streaming is looking less worthwhile for many.

Not Just Numbers

Of course, streaming still offers good things for subscribers. It allows you to watch films from the comfort of your home with accessible features (subtitles and audio description) available on many titles. But watching films at home is a fundamentally different experience from the cinema. For one, it is a much more relaxed affair. This means many viewers will be more willing to do other things while watching a film, e.g. phone browsing. This can take away from narrative immersion. Also, an internet connection is not always guaranteed when watching at home. Meaning a film can change quality, buffer or stop, taking viewers out of the experience. 

Additionally, home cinemas still can’t fully replicate the image and sound quality available in theatres. Informal cinema etiquette also encourages viewers to turn off their communication with the outside world to become fully absorbed in a film with others. Communal joys come with watching films at the cinema too. You can experience a film not only with your friends but also with strangers, and have the satisfaction of sharing an experience that brings you close to others.

Streaming or Screening

So, what should you bear in mind when it comes to saving money on watching films? Firstly, stick with a streaming service you are likely to use most. Streaming services are becoming quite expensive, and it’s easy to rack up a huge bill without using all a subscription has to offer. If you need access to another service, consider moving or using a free trial period rather than having multiple ongoing subscriptions.

When it comes to deciding whether to watch a film in the cinema or at home, research what the film is about. If the film is an emotional drama, it is likely to play just as well in a home setting as it would on the big screen. Meanwhile, horror films benefit from the lack of distraction and higher-quality sound provided by cinemas. Furthermore, sci-fi, fantasy, costume and epic dramas benefit from cinema’s better quality image. Cinema trips are also good for spending time with friends or like-minded people and enhancing the art you are already familiar with.

Film is an art form that can be just as powerful on the small and big screens, but with the associated costs, it’s always worth thinking about what way is best for you to experience it. So make sure to look at the cost value: can you afford it/will you get a good amount of use from it? But also remember to factor in the importance of experience and community to your calculations.

The post Is Streaming Still Worth It? UK Subscription Costs, Attention Spans and the Case for the Big Screen appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

At Home or On The Town?

According to the UK Cinema Association in 2024 (the latest year for which they have data), the average cost of a cinema ticket was around £7.73. The Film Distributors Association also found a comparable average of £7.71 per ticket.

However, while the price may seem affordable when averaged out, the reality of cinema prices is more complicated. For example, ticket prices can fluctuate based on things like the types of seating and the time of your screening. Certain times and dates are more likely to be popular with working audiences, such as weekends. Meaning pricing across cinemas is not necessarily consistent. There are also hidden costs that can come with cinema visits. Including things like food and drink, and transport (private or public). When added onto tickets that can cost anywhere up to nearly £20, depending on region, seating and the type of screening (e.g. 3D), it’s understandable why average audiences may view the cinema as a comparatively expensive activity, especially if they are going by themselves.

Along with that, the UK cost of living increased by 3.8-4.5% (depending on income bracket) in the third quarter of 2025. When we consider the fact that the average house already has broadband (listed by Uswitch as around £26 a month as of January 2025) and streaming (£4.99-£18.99 a month) allows access to a broad range of films at home, cutting out added hidden expenses, it’s easy to see why some audiences might choose to view films from home.

Make It Cheaper

Of course, this data is not intended to dampen the joy of going to the cinema. Few things are as enjoyable as experiencing a great piece of art in a communal setting. However, it’s hard to deny that cinema trips can sometimes be intimidating for people’s wallets. Especially those on lower incomes. So, how can we make going to the cinema cheaper?

From a viewer’s perspective, it’s always worth keeping an eye out for offers. For example, if you already have Amazon Prime, Tesco Clubcard, Aldi Plus or Sky Cinema, you can receive cinema discounts, free tickets or access to offer schemes. Various last-minute schemes can provide cheaper offers. Some of which are listed in the link above. It’s also always worth trying to go in a group. As it means you can split money on things like food and transport. Look into screenings outside of peak times, for example, mid-week and check whether it’s cheaper to book online or in person. Also, while concession purchases help cinemas, bring your own food and drink if finances are stretched.

Meanwhile, beyond permanently reducing prices, here are some suggestions cinema chains should consider to entice viewers to come more often. Things like offering ticket or food discounts or waiving fees on the purchase of multiple tickets would help attract bigger groups. Offering discounts, like those trialled by the BFI, or schemes for those who are low earners or on universal credit, would also help make the cinema experience more accessible. Even things like discounting parking could help make a night out at the cinema seem less taxing.

That’s Not All Folks

Since the pandemic, cinema attendance has been struggling to return to pre-pandemic figures. Action needs to be taken to bring people back. Cinemas need to have variety and a sense of community. But above all, it needs to be affordable for audiences to keep coming.

The post Cinema vs Streaming in the Cost-of-Living Era: Why Filmgoing Feels Pricier Than It Looks appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Nicholas Hoult

Hoult was a child star, performing in About A Boy, but Tony Stonem introduced him to a whole new audience. He demonstrated great range and showed he could shine in both an ensemble cast and in the spotlight. He was nominated for a Golden Nymph award for his role. After Skins, he worked on many acclaimed projects. Including TV series The Great, Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: First Class, Nosferatu (2024) and Superman (2025).

Dev Patel

Like many of his castmates, Dev Patel had little industry experience when he started working on Skins. However, his funny and relatable performance as Anwar Kharral resulted in his eventual casting in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. Since then, despite admitted rough periods, he has appeared in critically acclaimed films like Lion (which earned him an Oscar nomination), The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Green Knight and he produced, wrote, directed and starred in the incredible Monkey Man.

Kaya Scodelario

Effy, Tony’s sister and centre of Skins’ second generation. Scodelario’s talent earned her a Golden Nymph nomination and film work. From 2009-2011, she performed in Moon, Clash of the Titans (2011) and Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights. Later, she starred in tentpole releases like the Maze Runner series and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and led the minor hit Crawl. While not garnering as much recognition as her former costars, she has still succeeded with audiences thanks to the likes of Netflix’s The Gentlemen.

Daniel Kaluuya

Arguably, Skins’ best actor. Daniel Kaluuya’s Posh Kenneth marked the start of his pre-stardom work. This period saw work in projects like Doctor Who, Kick Ass 2 and crucially Black Mirror: Fifteen Million Merits. This standout performance caught Jordan Peele’s attention. He was then cast in Get Out (earning him an Oscar nomination), and his career shot into the stratosphere. He was later part of acclaimed casts for Black Panther, Widows and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Additionally, he received awards attention for his performances in Nope, Queen and Slim and Judas and The Black Messiah (winning him an Oscar).

Jack O’Connell

This is England, Eden Lake and his revelatory turn as James Cook established Jack O’Connell’s talent for playing troubled people in harsh circumstances. See his Starred Up, ‘71 and Unbroken roles. In 2015, he won BAFTA’s Rising Star award; however, 2025 saw O’Connell’s star truly ascend. He returned with the second season of the acclaimed SAS: Rogue Heroes. He had an eye-catching part in 28 Years Later, and he wowed as Remmick in smash hit Sinners. 

Building Skins

According to co-creator Bryan Elsley, the show’s inspiration came mainly from his son Jamie Brittain. Wanting to see a more realistic teen drama than the popular American imports, Brittain called Elsley’s current show pitches “boring, middle-class, middle-aged rubbish” and told him to make a meaningful show focused on teenagers. Working together, they created the idea for Skins, which E4 then commissioned. 

For casting, the creators went to young drama groups as well as holding open auditions to get actual teens involved. They also enlisted Brittain’s flatmates and other teens (Daniel Kaluuya later among them) to write and advise on scripts to ensure the characters acted like real teenagers. This, along with a lack of pressure from above, allowed the show to create a more authentic depiction of teenage life, with little moralising on topics like sex, drinking and drugs.

That said, the production did have problems. Actors April Pearson and Laya Lewis said they weren’t given enough safeguarding or coaching when filming intimate scenes. They also said several women stars were reportedly subject to controlling behaviour regarding their bodies by the show staff. Something Channel 4 and Elsley’s representatives were forced to address.

Conclusion

Skins was a generational touchstone and catapulted many talented actors into the A-list. It showcased young people’s creative capabilities, but also the dangers of a lax attitude towards the duty of care. Skins shows us that teenagers deserve platforms that foster their creativity in a way that foregrounds their voices and safety.

The post Skins: A Generation of Stars and the Behind-the-Scenes Story appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Fandoms: The Loud Partners

Fandoms have often helped to keep TV franchises going. It was through fan work that properties like Star Trek, Sense8, Firefly and more were able to continue beyond their initial runs. Fandoms have also continually brought interest to older shows. See how fans continue to drive interest in properties like The Golden Girls. That said, in the streaming age, fandoms are now much more valuable.

There are so many streaming services competing for viewers’ attention, and many people have complained about a lack of adequate promotion for streaming releases. Viewers’ attention is therefore often skewed in favour of shows that already have marketability. For example, they have a big star or creator attached or are part of a recognisable franchise. The only way to ensure a lesser-known property is renewed is through popular support.

In 2016, Stranger Things became one of Netflix’s biggest properties thanks to word of mouth and social media. Enabling it to gain a huge audience. Since then, media companies have recognised the huge potential of social media to provide them with viewers. A 2025 Deloitte report said 56% of surveyed young people were more likely to watch something if it was discussed on social media. 53% favored recommendations from social media over other forms of marketing. Meaning social media is a site of great interest for companies seeking to engage younger audiences with their projects. Especially since it’s a great way to tap into fan labour.

Labour & Visibility

Some argue that fans creating things for their favourite show is not labour. It is just something done for fun. However, the mindset doesn’t change the fact that fans are using their time to create things that ultimately act as marketing. Which benefits companies by helping them retain and grow their potential customer base. It also betrays a lack of value placed on the work that fans create. Industry workers are rightly paid to write reviews, create art, videos, spinoff stories and more and organise screenings for influencers who will advertise projects. Why should fans doing the same thing through social media not be considered actual work?

It also can’t be discounted that many marginalised audiences (people of colour, women and queer people) contribute greatly to the success of industry projects through various means. Providing different perspectives and a wealth of creations that amplify and enrich the experiences of many projects. Despite the industry itself consistently failing to fairly represent these audiences across the creative process. 

Fandoms help aid the development of both creative people and the creative industry. But, as is the case with unpaid internships, the industry will happily accept the work of those wanting to contribute to it without compensating them for their labour. Which is unacceptable.

Never Do It for Free

Especially when media companies are looking to influence people through social media investment, fans should be entitled to some kind of recompense for helping to promote a project. Though that brings up the argument of authenticity. After all, many people trust fans on social media because they think of them as authentic. Something that can be damaged if people believe creators are only promoting something for a company’s attention.

One base-level industry practice should be for fans to be able to monetise their content without interference from streaming companies. Allowing them to earn something for their efforts. Additionally, if a production is renewed or proven to be successful through ratings, merchandising, etc., things like official creator endorsements, a stake in profits, wider publicisation of work, etc., should be considered for fans who helped drive interest in the property. Another idea could be to have an industry body, funded by profits from streaming giants operating in a given country, that pays fans based on the level of effort they put into fostering fan communities.

These are merely suggestions, but whatever the case, fans deserve some form of payment. The industry isn’t shy about profiting from their work, so they shouldn’t be either.

The post Fans As Workers: The Unpaid Work of Keeping Cult TV Alive appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

We are looking at the 2025 box office to see what the genre’s performance tells us about audiences and the industry. As well as what opportunities are being presented for other films.

The Year Of Change For Superheroes?

The main topic of discussion this year is the lack of high-performing superhero movies. This is the first time since 2017 (excluding 2020) that a superhero movie hasn’t been in the top 5. Additionally, the top performer is not a Marvel film but DC’s new Superman reboot.

Marvel’s usual dominance has been completely shattered. Both their newer titles (Fantastic 4: First Steps and Thunderbolts*) and their returning branding (Captain America: Brave New World) failed to crack the top 10. Something that hasn’t happened (excluding 2020) since 2011. Analysts have mentioned superhero fatigue before, but this is the first year the box office seems to reflect it.

Up and Comers

Outside of the superhero bubble, this is also the first time since 2020 that we have had two top 10 performers not in the English language from more than one country. Ne Zha 2 (China) and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle (Japan).

Video game adaptations continued to do well. A Minecraft Movie is 2025’s third-highest-grosser at the time of writing. Horror also performed well. Of the year’s 20 highest-grossers, 4 were horror films. And while many of the biggest films are still sequels or films using existing IP to bolster their performance, Sinners and Weapons, 2 original films, made it into the top 20.

What This Means

Superheroes are far from being done. Superman’s success proves that, and as Kofi Outlaw points out, Marvel could recover its top position with the next slate of big brand titles, Spiderman: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, this year proves Marvel’s name isn’t a guarantee of dominance anymore. The MCU films mentioned above are part of franchises that are between 8 and 13 years old. Marvel can’t rely on dedicated fans to sustain them forever. Superman’s reboot managed to capture a younger audience and DC’s diverse upcoming release portfolio covers a range of interests and age groups. If Marvel wants to succeed in the future, to justify those huge budgets, it must get younger audiences invested in the next saga project. Not just those familiar with the MCU. But even then, superheroes are seeing competition from other areas.

The top 20’s 4 horror movies each cost around or below $100 million, and took between $268 – 494 million worldwide. A market still clearly exists for mid-budget films. These films also included the year’s two highest-performing original films. Showing that when well-marketed and written, audiences will go to see new ideas.

Similarly, Demon Slayer, on a $20 million budget, claimed over $760 million. Over $520 million came from territories outside of Japan. Also, while Ne Zha 2 primarily made money in China (over $1.8 billion on an $80 million budget), it still made almost $40 million in other territories. According to Think China, it is the 10th highest overseas takings for a Chinese film. It could have made more if it weren’t for distribution challenges. Again proving, given an outlet, international cinema can be popular. 

Lastly, video game movies are having a resurgence. After the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy and The Super Mario Bros Movie, A Minecraft Movie captured family audiences and made almost a billion dollars. Thus, studios are preparing a slate of video game adaptations. Including Return To Silent Hill (Cineverse), Mortal Kombat 2 (Warner Bros), Super Mario Bros Galaxy (Illumination) and The Legend of Zelda (Sony).

Conclusion

Competition for the top is definitely getting more diverse. Among the constant non-comic book sequels, Disney animations and remakes, DC’s newfound strength will hopefully encourage Marvel to get less insular to keep audiences interested. Video game movies are also coming out to play; mid-budget horror and international releases have proven capable of reaching great heights, given the chance, and even original IP has a crack at the top. It’s definitely an interesting time to be going to the movies.

The post From Demon Slayer to Minecraft: The 2025 Box Office Shift Beyond Superheroes appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

They’re not just smaller. They are offering curated programming alongside elevated dining, Q&As with filmmakers, and other experiences that can’t be found at the multiplex or streaming in your living room. In many cases, they are being rented out for private showings.

This isn’t nostalgia; it’s an opportunity. For movies, these smaller, more intimate venues are a physical manifestation of a broader shift in the industry. Over the next year, we are going to see filmmakers, independent distributors and even the big studios focusing more on smaller, human-driven stories that are centered on making emotional connections with audiences.

Cinema as Community

The rise of the small theater in many ways returns film to its original purpose, as a connective experience that we share with people, rather than as content we consume alone. By adding new elements to the theater-going experience, we are seeing the first true reimagining of how to engage with film since the rise of streaming.

After a period of trying to compete with home viewing by going bigger and noisier, the industry may finally realize that going more personal and curated may be the best way forward. 

This shift in how we watch influences what we want to watch.

The Return of the ‘90s Era Indy Film

Audiences are showing signs of gravitating toward character-driven dramedies, romantic comedies, and films that appeal across generations. They want movies they can watch with their parents and their kids.

Part of the desire for that communal viewing experience is a hunger for stories that are centered on human connection and offer appeal across different audience groups.

The appetite for these films is colliding with a transformed distribution landscape.

Fewer Releases, More Pathways

Studio consolidation has reduced the number of theatrical releases, but this contraction has opened alternative routes to audiences. 

Smaller bespoke distribution companies bypass traditional gatekeepers.  Upstarts like GATHR,  Kinema and Assembly Releasing – whose innovative use of generative AI in its documentary “Eno” created a completely new way of experiencing and interacting with a film. Second-run movies and the explosion of documentary shows that the marketplace isn’t shrinking, it’s fragmenting into specialized channels. It creates the perfect environment for telling the kind of personal stories we are seeing filmmakers gravitate towards.

Seeing More of Ourselves Onscreen

Movies are always about escapism on some level. A key element to that escapism in immersing oneself in stories that provide levity, warmth, and recognizable human lives.

In an age of AI and algorithms, there is a huge – and potentially lucrative – opening for producers to zero in on these new trends.

The Bottom Line: Small Rooms, Big Recalibration

The boutique theater boom isn’t a niche trend, it’s a barometer. These venues and the films they champion represent a shift in audience expectation that the industry should be paying attention to. And please make sure the popcorn is fresh!

The post What 50-Seat Theaters Tell Us About the Stories Audiences Will Want in 2026 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Breaking In

Hip-hop and rap began life in the early 70s in predominantly working-class black communities in the Bronx, New York. DJ Kool Herc is credited with the genre’s creation through using turntable techniques to extend percussive breaks. The musical techniques and sound associated with the genre would continue to evolve and change with time. His collaborator, Coke La Rock, rapped over the breaks. Many party attendees also performed what is now called breakdancing. From there, the music became a popular live feature at parties. In 1979, the first recorded and widely circulated hip-hop tracks emerged, with songs like Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight.

Despite starting as party music and vehicles for an artist’s skills, Hip-hop also spoke about social and political issues. Namely, racism, class, police brutality, and it humanised people painted as criminals.

Cinema began intersecting with hip-hop and rap in the early ’80s with films like Wild Style and Style Wars. This focused on another artistic expression associated with the movement, graffiti. Through documentary (Style Wars) and the combination of live performances and scripted narrative (Wild Style), these films acted as documents of the environment that produced hip-hop. As well as the genre’s early music and style. 

Taking Over

As the 80s went on, hip-hop spread across the world. In the US, artists like LL Cool J and groups like Run-DMC topped the charts. Additionally, MTV eventually began programming shows devoted to the genre. Hip-hop was popular, and film producers took notice.

The film Breakin made over $38 million on a $1.2 million budget. Beat Street and Krush Groove enabled directors Stan Lathan and Michael Schultz to showcase their perspective on the genre to a wider audience, and Run-DMC had their own star vehicle in 1988’s Tougher Than Leather. At the same time, hip-hop songs were being used to market blockbusters. See The Fat Boys’ Are You Ready For Freddy marketing A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

Then, in 1989, Do the Right Thing came out. Spike Lee’s film is steeped in hip-hop style, music and politics. It discusses topics like racism in working-class communities and police brutality. Features noticeable use of graffiti and makes heavy use (diegetic and thematic) of Public Enemy’s Fight the Power. It succeeded commercially and critically. Proving that hip-hop and film could be powerful partners.

Culture And Industry

Since the 90s, hip-hop, rap and cinema have become inseparable. Genre stars, including Tupac Shakur (Juice), Ice Cube (Boyz N the Hood), Queen Latifah (Set It Off) and Will Smith (Men in Black) and more, headlined acclaimed movies. The genre was part of the DNA of New Black Realism and informed modern world cinema. See films like La Haine (France), Kneecap (Ireland), Mogul Mowgli (UK) and the films of Ryan Coogler and many others. Hits like Straight Outta Compton dramatised hip-hop group N.W.A’s story. Meanwhile, the Spider-Verse films feature hip-hop heavily as part of Miles’ world. Artists like Eminem, Three 6 Mafia and Frayser Boy and Common have won Oscars. Kendrick Lamar’s work on the Black Panther soundtrack was also nominated and marked as the start of a new renaissance for movie soundtracks. Hip-hop and rap music are also commonplace within film marketing. 

This is just scratching the surface of the immense impact of hip-hop and rap on cinema. Yet despite all this, the genre’s main architects and audience, black Americans, are still underserved by Hollywood. Roles for black artists, in front of and behind the camera, are still disproportionately low in the US. The executives making the bulk of the money from the artists’ work are still overwhelmingly white, and little is being done by mainstream cinema to achieve hip-hop’s more radical goals. Hollywood will use rap and hip-hop to sell tickets, but will also happily discard artists when convenient. Still, for all the corporate attempts at co-option, there are still earnest uses of the music to give voice and enjoyment to the unseen and downtrodden. That is when cinema truly embodies hip-hop’s spirit.

The post Hip-Hop Hollywood: 50 Years of Rap’s Influence on Film appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

It’s worth remembering that stunt performers die doing their work, and this is not just a thing of the past; Joi Harris died in a motorcycle stunt on Deadpool 2. And of course, there are non-fatal but devastating injuries they can sustain. Some actors may give a lot for their art, but death is not usually part of it. Stunt work goes back to the beginning of cinema; one of the things people liked to see was danger and exciting incidents, and that meant stunts. The legendary comic performer Buster Keaton also performed very dangerous stunt work in the pursuit of laughs. Steamboat Bill, Jr features a stunt still held up today as one of the best ever. The whole front of a house falls forward, seemingly going to crush Keaton, only for him to survive as he just so happens to be standing in the spot where there is a window. There is no double for Keaton, and it is essentially carried out by precise measurements. Eventually, Hollywood decided it would be best to have trained professionals doing this because a) actors typically aren’t trained to do these things, and b) if your star breaks an ankle and you can’t film that’s a big problem.

Keanu Reeves is an actor who does a lot of the rough and tumble work of his action films, but has stated “I don’t do stunts, I do action” meaning that if he’s doing it, its not a stunt, an example he’s given is that he can do some of the fight choreography but when John Wick gets hit by a car, that’s his stunt double, and Reeves has shown enormous respect for the work done by stunt performers. Tom Cruise is an actor who has perhaps gone a different direction, seemingly intent on not only doing as many of his own stunts as possible but trying to do ever more impressive stunts.

Mad Max: Fury Road gave a lot of work to stunt performers. The majority of the film is a car chase, and a car chase featuring car crashes, car explosions, car crushings and more car-based carnage. The film was mainly done with practical effects, with CGI used to remove seatbelts and other safety features. These were stunts that could involve five, six, seven or more vehicles, with stunts involving going from one moving vehicle to another. Even with all the safety precautions, it was both dangerous and technically difficult.

So stunts can be breathtaking, exciting, scary and even funny, but they are more than just window-dressing. There is verisimilitude; the film feels real, good stunts create the sense of jeopardy, and they add weight to a character’s struggle. We can see the hits they take, the struggle they pursue for a goal. When scenes in a film don’t look real, it can spoil the scene or even the whole movie. Few would deny that the body language of an actor, how they move, and their expressions are a hugely important part of the performance, so why should this stop when another performer steps in to do the dangerous part of that for them? Of equal importance is the team behind the stunt performer, those who design and make these stunts. No one would see it as odd that both an actor and a director get an Oscar each, so why not the stunt performer and stunt crew?

Of course, stunts aren’t just jumping off buildings and getting set on fire. Something as straightforward as a character jumping over a gate is a stunt. George Clooney’s The Descendants has ten people credited for stunt work for what is essentially a film of Clooney running around Hawaii in flip-flops, and this film still needed a whole team. People who are essential to every type of film should be recognised for their contribution and talent.

The post Why the Oscars Need a Stunt Category: Recognising the Risk Behind the Action appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert described cinema as an empathy machine. When you watch movies, you identify with characters, you see things from their perspective, you can gain some understanding – perhaps limited and incomplete – into their life. This is incredibly powerful and can lead people to change how they see the world and other people in it. But does it apply to documentaries in the same way as fiction movies?

Movies

Bleak versions of our future have been a staple of sci-fi for as long as it has existed. The Road, set after some unspecified climate disaster, is perhaps the bleakest film you will ever see, where the best-case situation is still awful. Children of Men shows a not-too-distant future where the birth-rate has fallen to zero, the youngest person in the world is in their late teens, with no idea why this is happening it’s hard to imagine it being fixed. The absence of children is hugely oppressive, and the utter futility of what everyone is doing is almost impossible to bear. One character has been charged with saving artistic treasures from around the collapsing world – why? In a matter of decades, there will be no one left alive to appreciate them. The Mad Max series of films suggests a nuclear apocalypse, which has led to an ecological disaster, and gangs of post-apocalyptic thugs fight to the death over the dwindling resources. Even Pixar’s Wall-E shows a world overrun with trash, leading humanity to abandon Earth and live in space, enjoying an empty existence of lazy indulgence. Are these films trying to influence people? Some have a very direct message – so Wall-E is saying make an effort and clean up the planet. The Mad Max films, like many films that play with the idea of an end by nuclear war, suggest that it was almost inevitable that once humanity had these weapons, they were going to obliterate the world. The Road has a very the-living-will-envy-the-dead feeling to it. If these films are trying to stir people to take action against climate change the problem may be that they usually rely solely on fear. An article published in the journal Science Communication found that while the scary futures shown in these films do get attention, they also make people feel powerless and don’t lead to change.

It may be surprising what films have had a big impact on society. As well as being a cinematic masterpiece, Jaws forever changed people’s attitude to sharks. Both authors of the book, Peter Benchley and film director Steven Spielberg, have stated they feel bad for making people see sharks as an outright villain and especially dangerous. So effectively have sharks been vilified by Hollywood that in a 2023 documentary, Sharksploitation was made to address this mischaracterisation. Horror films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist created fears out of almost nothing, with the former creating the image of devil-worshipping human-sacrificing cults. The Exorcist led to genuine hysterical outbursts, as well as cementing the sinister reputation of Ouija boards and ideas about possession. References to oujia boards, possession, and satanists today will almost certainly reference these films. The movie The China Syndrome, about a journalist uncovering coverups at a nuclear power plant and the risk to the public there was very the real Three Mile Island nuclear power plant partial meltdown, forever linking the film with the anti-nuclear power movement.

Documentaries

The most famous climate change documentary is undoubtedly An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary made by former Vice President Al Gore. Gore has long been an environmentalist, and once out of politics, it became his main focus. The film won an Oscar and got Gore a Nobel Peace Prize. 2014’s Cowspiracy focuses on the harm animal agriculture does to the environment, and is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, destruction of the rainforest and many more environmental problems. The Leonardo DiCaprio-produced Before the Flood was a well-received documentary about climate change, but it does not seem to have broken into the public consciousness in the way.

One of the most impactful documentaries of the past 20 years is Loose Change, a documentary on 9/11 that gives credence to a number of conspiracy theories about the attack. It had a huge impact on many people and for a lot of people shifted the narrative from a terrorist attack to something even worse. The fact that the document was roundly criticised by journalists, experts in everything from aviation to structural engineering and the authorities did little to dent its popularity.

It is exceedingly rare for one documentary to have a big impact on society, but often, they are a smaller piece of a bigger societal change. They might not inspire millions to action, but they can inspire individuals who then go on to make that change. One problem for documentaries is that real experts tend to talk in specific, limited and unsensational terms, estimated increases of a few degrees in temperature over years, which will impact the ecosystem… It’s not going to grab everyone’s attention. The Day After Tomorrow grabs your attention.

The post Climate Change on Screen: Do Documentaries or Disaster Movies Drive Real Action? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Formula 1

Perhaps the film that kicked off this recent resurgence was Senna, a documentary on F1 driver Ayrton Senna that was released to critical acclaim, following the driver over the course of his career to his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The film dealt with Senna’s background, his rivalries and his tragic death. It is likely that Senna was a big reason that Formula 1: Drive To Survive was made. This is a Netflix show that condenses a season of Formula 1 into one season of television, and has been very popular and opened the sport up to new audiences. However, the show almost immediately ran into controversy about the spin the showmakers were putting on the real events. Drivers complained that rivalries were manufactured in the edit, that all kinds of events were misrepresented, put in a different context or exaggerated. This led to F1 champion Max Verstappen refusing to be involved in the show for several seasons. It has been said that some people watch F1 for the possibility of a crash, although no driver has died in a race since Ayrton Senna, and obviously a season retrospective documentary will not be breaking the news of such an accident.

The Last Dance focuses on basketball colossus Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, zooming in on 1997-1998 season, Jordan’s last season with the team. Whilst a critical and commercial success, the series has faced a lot of pushback. Some of those who took part claim they were misled, believing they were taking part in a documentary purely about that season on the Chicago Bulls, not that it had a particular spotlight on Jordan. Again, there were claims some contributors were portrayed in a negative light, and Jordan, who clearly was essential for the programme, was deferred to too much. Michael Jordan’s production company, Jump 23, was additionally a co-producer on the documentary which could potentially give him even more influence.

There are documentaries that go into very dark sides of sports, such as 2024 Concussed: The American Dream, which focuses on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE, in American football. This condition is caused by repeated blows to the head, contrasting the careers of Tyler Sash and Brett Favre. Tyler Sash was a promising young professional football player who died in 2015 and after an autopsy was confirmed to have CTE. CTE can cause cognitive issues like memory loss, trouble concentrating, but can also lead to drastic changes in mood and behaviour, with issues like mood instability, aggression and suicidal behaviour all being associated with it. Tyler Sash’s short career and tragic death are contrasted with football legend Brett Favre, who also has had repeated concussions and head trauma from playing the sport and has become a prominent advocate in safety in football and understanding CTE. The title of the film Concussed: The American Dream is telling, as playing professional football is a dream for many Americans, but one that can leave them facing huge medical problems.

True Sport

The biggest two differences between these two true crime and “true sport” are that in sports documentaries, you are dealing with celebrities, who are usually still alive, and the trauma and negativity they portray is less destructive than violent crime. With The Last Dance, there are questions about how much influence Jordan had over the documentary; he is listed as a producer and without his involvement, would the documentary have taken place? On the other side of this issue, Formula 1: Drive To Survive had the issue of prominent drivers refusing to take part because of the problems they saw, which they can do in a TV show that goes on for years. Ken Burns, the legendary documentarian, specifically criticised The Last Dance for a lack of journalistic credibility and integrity, as it easily gave way to pressure to show Jordan in the best light.

The second difference in the subject matter is of even more importance. Of the four documentaries mentioned, The Last Dance is about the success and talent of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Formula 1: Drive To Survive, the excitement and tension of a sporting season, Senna, about the life and tragic death of a great competitor and Concussed: An American Dream, the suffering caused by CTE. The first two documentaries have issues, but their subject matter has less weight than most true crime dramas; while obviously Ayrton Senna’s death was tragic, the documentary doesn’t exploit that and Concussed: The American Dream has a very specific viewpoint on an ongoing problem. The manipulation of violence, death and suffering for ratings, a problem so prevalent in true crime, is nowhere near as widespread. Again, this is due to inherent differences in reporting on crime or sport; the latter has far less tragedy. It seems the bigger problem in true sport is not the trauma but the manipulation of the story, either by producers looking for more salacious plots or the very sportspeople who the documentaries are about.

The post Are Sports Docs the New True Crime? Editing, Access and the ‘Truth’ Behind the Drama appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

To accomplish this, I will try to pick actors who are not yet huge stars, though some may have high-profile credits. Just to avoid this being a star-studded fan casting. Plus, the players will be in their mid-20s to early 30s. Like the original cast when they started.

Monica – Hari Nef

Throughout her relatively small career, Hari Nef has showcased many of Monica’s key qualities. Her role in Barbie demonstrated her comedic talent and her caring nature. Additionally, Assassination Nation platformed her more cutting wit as well as a vulnerable side that could be well utilised for Monica’s insecurities. Also, given that she stands out and plays well as part of an ensemble cast in both projects, it’s undeniable that Hari would make a great pick for the Friends’ mother figure.

Chandler – Jacob Batalon

Could there be a more perfect modern embodiment of Chandler Bing than Jacob Batalon? His turn as Ned in the MCU Spider-Man films shows that he can do pretty much any type of comedy you can throw at him. He is pitch-perfect as the funny, loyal best friend archetype. Coupled with this, his sweet small-scale courtship with Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant in Far From Home provides a great basis for him to build on with Chandler and Monica’s relationship storyline.

Phoebe – Geraldine Viswanathan

Phoebe Buffay wears her heart on her sleeve. She is also unpredictable, with a sarcastic, sometimes dark sense of humour. Geraldine Viswanathan can nail sarcasm and emotionally honest moments. Her underappreciated work in Drive Away Dolls proves it. Meanwhile, Miracle Workers: End Times gets many big laughs from her delivery of dark punchlines. Seriously, imagine Phoebe in a post-apocalypse scenario. You will end up with something like Geraldine’s performance in Miracle Workers: End Times.

Joey – Jacob Elordi

You see, Joey Tribbiani is an actor, he’s also charming, a devoted friend, and one of TV’s most beloved himbos. Who else could pull that off? Well, as Saltburn‘s Felix is a charming himbo who defends someone he considers a friend, and other projects like Priscilla and Euphoria indicate he can play a variety of roles, which he could utilise for Joey’s acting projects, Jacob Elordi would be fantastic as the jobbing actor.

Rachel – Aimee Lou Wood

Initially sheltered and naive, Rachel Green rises to have her own career while maintaining a welcoming personality. She is Friends’ most well-known character. If there is any equivalent that instantly comes to mind, it’s Aimee Lou Wood’s Aimee from Sex Education. Aimee also has a privileged background and appears naive at first, but she also goes through a lot of development and keeps a sense of warmth throughout. Plus, Aimee is really funny, having won a BAFTA for her performance. Which is a big deal.

Ross – David Corenswet

Yes, the new Superman would make a fantastic Ross Geller. He can play both the charming and darker aspects needed for Ross’ love life, see his Projectionist performance in Pearl. The sense of humour that saves Ross from being a repulsive presence is also on full display in his interviews. The dedication to acting we see in his role as Hollywood‘s Jack means he can also pull off Ross’s passion for Palaeontology. 

So ends our look at who we would cast in the iconic Friends roles in 2025. Who would you pick for these beloved parts?

The post Casting Friends in 2025 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

In this article, we look at how TV horror has managed to hook modern viewers. Analysing how the storytelling techniques and content have changed.

Serial Horror Can Work

TV horror has been steadily challenging its established structures for a while. Twin Peaks focused on the long-running, intersecting, surreal and often horrific mysteries and characters connected to the death of Laura Palmer. Now modern shows like American Horror Story choose a new horror genre to explore for each new season’s arc. Meanwhile, The Walking Dead, Yellowjackets, Hannibal, The Last of Us and more unfurl their horrific stories across multiple continuing seasons.

Many of these series have succeeded with viewers for two reasons. Firstly, they use their length and scope to explore a diverse array of characters and the worlds they inhabit in more expansive ways than a standard horror film allows. Plus, the expanded time spent in these characters’ worlds and company builds a sense of temporal familiarity that films can’t easily replicate. This allows moments of horror to potentially have a greater impact because of the connection built with the audience.

Secondly, these shows have successfully mapped horror beats onto long-running serialised storytelling. Those made for broadcast TV use the mini-climaxes before advert breaks to keep viewers on edge. Mainly done through character revelations, sudden shocks that leave us wanting a fuller picture or building up suspenseful situations. Steadily, though, more shows are structuring their episodes like movies, focusing more on building atmosphere and mystery throughout the entire episode. Rather than needing to heighten tension every few minutes. Meaning shows can also revel in a slow build. Both formats craft tension in their own unique ways, and both formats usually end with a finale that shocks us enough to want to continue the narrative. Each episode gradually reveals more about the characters, the story and the overall threat. With no true status quo restored until the season’s end, these shows know just what to do to keep TV audiences watching.

Scary & Engaging

It’s not just the unique style of horror storytelling that is drawing people to these shows. With the restrictions of yesteryear no longer constraining what can be shown on cable and streaming, and rising production budgets TV horror is allowed to be more adult. For example, horror shows can now deliver movie-level effects to meet the needs of the story. Adding another level of immersion and entertainment for both general watchers and horror fans.

These shows are also not afraid to tackle big issues such as addiction (The Haunting of Hill House), climate change (The Last of Us), trauma (Yellowjackets) and more. Horror has, of course, always dealt with big themes, but with restrictions no longer watering them down, these stories can be much more confrontational in how they approach the topic. Many audiences gravitate to these shows because of their ability to showcase dark themes in an honest way.

Small Screen Screams Staying

Horror has shown itself fully capable of working in the world of serialised TV. Through its focus on building engaging characters and settings, adapting the beats of horror to the needs of either broadcast and streaming formats, as well as tackling big themes with horrific effects, horror has shown itself to be a truly unstoppable genre. Time truly is no barrier to scares.

The post Prestige TV Horror: Scary Stories Going Serial appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Bombing Runs

Ben Kuchera popularised the term “review bombing” in a 2008 article that discussed backlash to the game Spore having a limited number of installs. This resulted in disappointed gamers leaving negative reviews on sites like Amazon in hopes that bad press would force change. 

Since then, review bombing has become synonymous with a particular type of response to films and TV shows. This is where rating sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes are flooded with negative reviews. They can be used in both sporadic and highly organised fashions. They sometimes happen before projects are even officially released, and are reactionary in their content. For example, see reactions to Ghostbusters (2016), Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, The Little Mermaid (2023), Snow White (2025) and even films like The Promise.

Entitlement and Identity

Many of these reactionary campaigns focus on popular/big-budget action-adventure-oriented media. Using them as vehicles to attack perspectives that have been historically marginalised within cinema. Such as those of women, people of colour, LGBT+ people and those who suffered under imperialism. There are, of course, many blockbuster films that focus on marginalised perspectives and also have political messages. So why are only particular films bombed? 

Essentially, the targets are often chosen because they are new big releases that deviate from a historical “norm” that certain insular in-groups hold as important. Whether it be pre-existing media or historical narratives. A “norm” which didn’t include certain evidence and perspectives because of historical, cultural and political biases. As a result, these in-groups are resistant to addressing social injustice based on historical marginalisation, as it would challenge their view of something crucial to them. Because these projects’ size draws broad attention and deviates from the bomber’s preferred narrative, review bombing is used to assert dominance regarding what stories are told. All done to hold onto a certain high ground. Whether it be through fandom gatekeeping or national pride. This tracks with research suggesting that reactionary sentiment is fostered by the idea that someone’s status of relative privilege may be threatened.

Effects and Response

While studios often ignore review bombing campaigns, many workers and fans, particularly those who are marginalised, can be made to feel unwelcome or can be driven out of fandoms and the industry through the hateful atmosphere they perpetuate. Plus studios are more than happy to abandon social consciousness to make more money if pressure becomes too much. This serves only to embolden the hatemongers and drive away marginalised people. Thus, measures are needed to dilute potential harm.

Both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb have tried to mitigate the impact through differing measures. IMDb introduced weighted average ratings and a warning label for when it detects unusual voting activity. RT, meanwhile, has a verification system for audience film ratings that requires proof of ticket purchase to be verified. They then allow people to see the difference between raw audience scores and verified ones. Additionally, they limit reviews until the project’s official release date. These approaches have merits but also their own problems. RT’s measures emphasise cinema runs over other distribution methods, and have implemented nothing for TV ratings. IMDb’s approach, meanwhile, is very poorly signposted. Plus, allowing for ratings to take place after one public screening is ripe for abuse.

Something like an improved version of RT’s system is probably one of the best methods to combat the bomber’s impact. It showcases the difference between potential review bombers and those who care enough to be verified. This, along with better community tools to flag potential troll activity, perhaps requiring written contributions for reviews to be accepted and allowing more time after a project is released to verify activity, could help. Ultimately, a comprehensive system transformation is needed to combat this hateful rhetoric.

The post Fan Rage: What Review Bombs Tell Us About Fan Entitlement appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Today, we will look at the stories that are giving physical media enthusiasts a lot of pleasure. We will also analyse why hard discs still hold appeal for audiences. Along with what it could mean for the future entertainment landscape.

Physical Media’s Comeback?

In 2024, Phil Halliday, HMV’s Managing Director, said that the retailer saw visual media sales increase by 5% in 2024’s first quarter, with “4K and Blu-Ray…doing particularly well”. A big deal for a store chain that entered administration twice in the 2010s. Those figures for 4K and Blu-rays proved prophetic of the entire year. The Digital Entertainment Retail Association later reported that 4K and Blu-ray sales had increased from 2023-2024. Blu-ray sales totalled around £81.6 million, with 4K titles bringing in £31.5 million.

Additionally, news like the selling out of Oppenheimer’s 4K release at many major retailers, the continual rise in prominence of high quality physical releases from boutique blu-ray labels such as Arrow Video, Second Sight Entertainment, Radiance Films, 88 Films, Second Run and more, which offer high quality releases of obscure and well-known titles, all packed with extras that provide more insight into the films and who made them, and the physical disc market making £160.8 million (including through rentals), shows that physical media still holds some sway with entertainment lovers.

What is Driving It?

While big streaming platforms still dominate home viewing, there are many reasons physical media remains attractive. Firstly, many titles simply aren’t available on streaming sites. This is especially true when it comes to older, obscure cult films and international releases. So, if an online platform can’t provide, many physical media companies are more than happy to pick up the slack.

Secondly, it provides a sense of security. With rights constantly changing hands, some titles vanishing altogether, film companies gating off their own content for their own platforms, and prices rising for both subscriptions and internet access, access to something is never certain in the streaming age. Some companies, like Disney, even alter projects without making the original version accessible online. Having a hard copy means viewers can always access their favourite properties after one payment, with no danger of them being altered or recalled.

Thirdly, the inclusion of extra materials in physical releases (especially from boutique labels), like commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes documentaries, outtakes, short films and more helps to provide not only more value for money but also gives audiences a much deeper appreciation of the work that goes into making media. Rather than allowing titles to just be seen as content.

Lastly, the disc experience guarantees high quality. Unfortunately, internet connections are still not constant. Many homes have spotty connections, which can lead to constant buffering, quality drops and cut-offs when streaming. There are also many people who still don’t have household internet access (around 2.8 million in the UK alone). Along with this, several big streaming services have now introduced adverts to their platforms, which intrude on the viewing experience. By contrast, barring disc scratches, watching something on a disc means consistent quality with no possibility for interruptions. 

Here To Stay Or Gone Tomorrow?

It’s hard to see streaming losing its market dominance anytime soon. Especially with how streaming services offer convenient access to such a wide variety of work.

However, with all the problems mentioned above, physical media will likely remain a fixture for viewers wanting to access the most artistically satisfying and best quality experience of something they love or can’t access elsewhere.

Physical media may not be able to reclaim its glory days, but as the vinyl revival proves, having a lovingly curated physical version of a beloved piece of art is something that entertainment lovers will always value.

The post Long Live Physical Media: A Rebellion in a Streaming World appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Even though it’s been years since their release, they can still compete with the new releases we see in the cinemas and on streaming services. Let’s get into it!

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump has been one of those movies I can watch over and over without getting tired of it. Forrest is such a pure, kind character who somehow ends up in the middle of huge historical moments, like fighting in the Vietnam War and meeting presidents. My favorite scene is when he just starts running, and people join him without even asking why. It was a gentle yet powerful reminder that sometimes you don’t need a reason to start something. You just do it. This movie taught me that life can be unpredictable, but if you keep moving forward and stay kind, amazing things can happen.

Inception 

The first time I watched Inception, my mind was completely blown. I couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks because I was so amazed at what happened, even though the movie was pretty long. It’s about a group of people who enter dreams to plant ideas, and the way they explore different dream levels feels like solving a puzzle while running a marathon. 

If there’s one thing I loved about this movie, aside from Leonardo DiCaprio, it is that our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality. It also made me think about how powerful the mind is… and yes, that spinning top at the end still makes me wonder if it’s all a dream. Before you start watching this, make sure you have a good internet service provider if you’re streaming, so you can really understand what the movie is about. 

Fight Club 

Okay, I might be breaking the first rule of Fight Club by even talking about it… but I can’t help it. This movie is just that good. It’s about a guy who’s completely fed up with his boring life, and then he meets Tyler Durden — a wild, unpredictable man who changes everything. They start a secret fight club where strangers punch each other to feel alive, but soon it spirals into something much bigger and much darker. The plot twist, though, is definitely mindblowing. I could never forget what this movie did to my brain. 

2001: A Space Odyssey

This movie isn’t for everyone, but I loved how different it felt from anything else I’ve seen. It’s slow and quiet, and it makes you feel tiny compared to the universe.  My favorite scene is when HAL 9000, the spaceship’s computer, says, “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” It’s chilling and unforgettable. The movie made me realize how far technology could go and how it can both help and harm us. It’s one of those films that leaves you with more questions than answers, and I kind of love that. Since it’s a relatively old movie, you can also watch this on traditional TV like DISH TV. Make sure to watch this!

Mean Girls

On Wednesdays, we wear pink, of course. I can’t miss this on our list. It’s literally the ultimate guide to surviving high school drama. You’ll meet Cady, a typical girl who gets pulled into the most popular group in school called The Plastics. At first, she’s just trying to fit in, but before she knows it, she’s caught up in gossip, lies, and the infamous Burn Book. My favorite scene has to be the cafeteria map breakdown. It’s hilarious how they explain where every group sits, and honestly, every school has that. 

Final Thoughts

These are my top 5 most iconic movies of all time. No matter what you try to watch in this list, I’m confident that you will love it as much as I did. Just make sure that if you’re streaming them online, you need to have a fast internet connection so you can enjoy the entire movie. Happy watching!

The post 5 Most Iconic Movies of All Time appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Britain’s Vicky Mather, an award-winning filmmaker and artist who is also a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for London College of Fashion’s MA Fashion, Film and Digital Production course, in an interview with Big Picture Film Club says that “Fashion and cinema are visual conversations, and those conversations can amplify when these two cultural entities collaborate.”

In some stances, fashion helps tell a cinematic story while in other cinema assists in telling a fashion story, as high-couture houses also employ cinema talents to promote their art and products, and Mather sees an alignment in such relations as talents are bridging both worlds, such as stylist and film director Tom Ford and actress Chloë Sevigny.

“Fashion filmmakers are naturally good at aesthetics. Sometimes this style-first approach can lack substance, narrative, and meaning. Still, the language of cinema can help fashion expand its power through visual storytelling and can capture the essence of a fashion collection through creating a visual world for the clothing to exist within,” believes Mather.

Renowned Brazilian actress Isabel Fillardis started her life as a model at the tender age of 11 years-old becoming a professional at 15 operating in the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro venues for major brands like Coca-Cola, MacDonald’s L’oreal Paris, and was the first Black artist to star in a TV ad for Lux Luxo and its soap named Pérola Negra (Black Pearl) before enrolling in the upcoming talents of TV Globo and giving life to the character of Ritinha in the telenovela ‘Renascer,’ telenovelas are popular in the South American country and gave platform for talents like Sônia Braga, Wagner Moura, and Fillardis to jump to the silver screen.

Having experience and success in fashion and cinema, Fillardis explains how the symbiosis between cinema and fashion operate in an interview with the Big Picture Film Club: “Cinema is a great doorway to world culture, and fashion dictates an era, a period, or a season (where the story takes place), while helping and collaborating with the overall layout and conception of the film itself.”

A nuanced social climber and a trademark luxury brand

The collaborations between fashion and cinema have led to real-life friendships, such as the one that Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto enjoys with his compatriot, Takeshi Kitano, and German director Wim Wenders, both auteurs and respected artists in the cinema world who have employed Yamamoto’s creations in their stories. Tom Ford might be more known for his clothing prowess, but he is also an acclaimed director, having under his name ‘Nocturnal Animals’ (2016) and ‘A Single Man’ (2009).

There are movies where fashion plays a distinctive role, such as ‘Clueless’ (1995), and ‘Collateral’ (2004), in composing the characters, or are about aspects of the fashion world, such as ‘Blow-Up’ (1966), ‘Neon Demon’ (2016), and ‘Phantom Thread (2017). Among those that carved a legacy and influenced mainstream society are Audrey Hepburn’s tale of a social climber in New York ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ (1961), Meryl Streep turn as a demanding fashion magazine editor in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (2006), and the African high-tech superhero ‘Black Panther’ (2018).

Fillardis sees a classic film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ as it “is a film with many layers but it is a film that brings sexist portrait of the 1961 society, where it portrays superficiality, portrays a woman who wants to be rich and believes that is happiness and is surprised when she meets a novelist, a writer, and falls in love.”
Some of the layers of the film, based on a homonymous Truman Capote novel, are in the way it deals with the character development of Holly Golightly (Hepburn) as “the film explores happiness and utilizes fashion as both a shield and a projection of what the main character aspires to be, representing what she believes constitutes happiness. Many people dress up to present themselves as someone else, but deep down, they aren’t like that. So, it’s an interesting film because it’s very layered.”

The Brazilian actress goes beyond to denote how relevant is ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s as “it marks a sophistication for cinema at that time, Audrey with that elegant posture and incredible wardrobe, the hairdos, the pearls, and Tiffany with all that ornamentation dictating the scales, and the way to see how fashion influences character development and contributes to a film.”

In the real world, the picture helped cement the status of the luxury store Tiffany & Co. to the point that it became an attraction for tourists, and their jewellery is coveted by those who want to impress or express their feelings to their loved ones. The picture also influenced the other storytelling products with its depictions of high class and taste, as believed by Mather. “The incorporation of a brand (Tiffany’s) into one of the most famous films of all time, plus Audrey, plus the art direction, the cinematography and New York, and so on presents us with a pure aspirational fantasy world that gives birth to contemporary series that are clearly historically influenced by the film, like for example, Netflix’s Emily in Paris.”

The elegant and funny hell that introduced viewers to the fashion world

Much like ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ and ‘Emily in Paris’ (2020 – ), ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ is another story that uses comedy aligned with fashion to bring a tale depicting aspects of social class, image, and values also serving as showcase stage for Streep’s talent and skill while getting the average viewer closer to the life of a New York fashion magazine.

“The fashion magazine world in 2025 is more dynamic than in the version satirised in ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ a very funny film that is highly entertaining and watchable- so is ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ (2016). It’s the same thing, and I have met people who remind me of the characters portrayed, but I also remind myself of these characters, so who am I to judge! ‘Thats all!’,” observes Mather.

For Fillardis ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ is also a cinema classic, to whom one of the highpoints of the picture is to talk about fashion and its “backstage corners, the pain and pleasures, its realities” while bringing it to the mainstream public “so we see cinema contributing and informing people, showing behaviours inside a society, inside a layer which is this world of fashion, showing complex and human figures which are behind each character.”

The former model sees a brilliant turn by Streep, who as Miranda Priestly “hides behind all that sophistication, all of that to protect a significant vulnerability, and it portrays exactly what many people have already lived through or are still living with, hiding their pain behind all these major labels, brands, and clothes.” The movie worked, and since we are in a period of legacy sequels and remakes, there is a second part of this story being prepared for cinemas, so Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci will engage in more power and ego disputes while well dressed and will be joined by Justin Theroux and Lucy Liu. ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ will be in cinemas next year, 20 years after the original film’s release.

The African Panther that cuts through prejudice and brings self-esteem

If ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ brought power and ego with sharp-dressed people, Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ had it but also brought a new look at African fashion with its patterns, designs, and cloths in a picture that not only influenced fashion but also how societies identify Blackness with its bold visuals and narrative surpassing the limitations of the superhero genre with political and social consciousness. A long-time voice for Black civil rights, identity, and representation in Brazil, Fillardis sees in the Ryan Coogler-directed picture a milestone for Hollywood, world cinema, and even Brazilian cinema culture due to the societal changes it brought.

“‘Black Panther’ is another significant mark in national (Brazilian) cinema. ‘Black Panther’ is also a layered picture with many layers inside one film. ‘Black Panther’ brings Black empowerment, the intelligence, the technology and the contribution by Black people to humanity, the aesthetics of the movie for bringing Black royalty shows a new behavior and empowerment not only in fashion and for those who make fashion but to a whole Black populace to understand and reaffirm its identity in Brazil and the world. It is also a significant milestone in national cinema, bringing together diverse influences, a complex array of layers, and multiple directions, as well as vast political and social leanings, which have led to this great rediscovery of Africa,” says Fillardis.

Mather sees in the success of ‘Black Panther’ and the way it portrays Blackness and Black culture in the US and Africa, and part of it comes from the alignment between its fashion sense and cinematic choices. “Both film and fashion are storytelling vehicles that when available to a range of creative people, act as tools for creativity and self-expression, like for example: Afrofuturism, which expands Black narratives into aspirational futures utilising the codes and conventions of science fiction as a genre- so cool!”

For Mather, ‘Black Panther’ opens doors for cinema and fashion storytelling of marginalised groups and the need to have their truth on the screen: “If filmmakers are given the creative freedom along with the collaborators they need to make short form films with contemporary designers, fashion film can be a vehicle for visual activism. It can represent identities and ensure they are celebrated instead of watered down, and the medium can be used to authentically explore complexities and nuance through visual metaphors that widen representation and cultivate a deeper understanding and respect for one another.”

Still, for the results of ‘Black Panther’ to be achieved once more or even surpass the bar it has set, there is a need to have conversations about diversity in decision-making positions within both industries.

“If every story in the world was told by, for example, a middle-aged white man, we would end up living within the confines of that ‘way of seeing’ ultimately shaping our beliefs, values and assumptions for generations- how boring! Expanding representation both in front and behind the camera- as well as the sewing machine, is essential for us to deepen our knowledge of other cultures to develop a wider understanding of cultural identities and expand our global perspective,” exposes Mather.

Knowing more about each other’s craft

‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and ‘Black Panther’ are movies that show how fashion can help to build characters and tell a story through visual resources that are appealing to the eyes and senses, making cinema a memorable sensorial experience that can also have societal impacts, even leading to conversations and changes.

To achieve such results, it is interesting for people from cinema and those from fashion to not just acknowledge their siblings but also to study the craft of the other, as believe Fillardis and Mather.
“Fashion helps in the development of an identity, whether it be of a character or a movie. Fashion indicates which season we are in, the place we are situated, and the behavior of that character. Therefore, fashion contributes to the construction of a story, one that wants to be told,” evaluates Fillardis.

Mather corroborates Fillardis’ vision: “Fashion is wildly entertaining, super fun, can laugh at itself, but on a more serious note, it’s a reflection of who we are. When you can identify a specific point in time through a film, the styling, makeup, art direction, cinematography or soundtrack- your film becomes a cultural artefact- it’s the same for fashion.”

In addition, Mather who also teaches the subject at London College of Fashion exposes that: “It’s imperative at London College of Fashion that if we are going to be working in this area of branded filmmaking we have the opportunity to not only make it super engaging, but as filmmakers the students have the luxury of being able to just walk upstairs and talk to fashion designers who are trying to reimagine the production of fashion garments in an environmentally, socially and ethically conscious way, and as filmmakers we can do the exact same in terms of film production and storytelling.” Mather is focusing on the future of the fashion and cinema industries to make sure that more professionals know more about both areas, which are indeed forms of art.

‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ and ‘Black Panther’ have carved their way into the cultural lexicon and will continue to have an influence for years to come, being the subject of study for both veterans and those considering joining its ranks. These movies bring respect to both the silver screen and the closet.

Photo: Isabel Fillardis / Thaís Monteiro

The post From Prada to Wakanda: Movie Fashion That Changed Culture appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Danny is played by Luke McQuillan, who brings a passionate and credible performance to the story that he also wrote. Danny is an Afghanistan war veteran who lost his marriage, the custody of his child and his pride after a house accident and befriends teenager Will (Daniel Fee), a puppy-eyed member of Dublin’s underworld who is living on the woods after failing to pay his debts to the local kingpin, the feared Power who is played by the astonishingly talented Aiden Gillen, who is known for incarnating Littlefinger in ‘Game of Thrones.’

Gillen comes as a perverted Peter Pan leading a pack of lost rabid cubs, as ‘Amongst the Wolves’ serves as a coming-of-age story for Will, whose vulnerability makes him somewhat likeable. Without condescending speeches, ‘Amongst the Wolves’ briefly touches on the social dilemma that impoverished children look up to local criminals and see in illegality a way for a better life.

The first part of the picture is a slow burn, a character study of Danny, who struggles with PTSD and the shades of homeless life as he tries to find places to sleep, receiving help from social workers, presenting himself appropriately to his son while dealing with a wife who has her side of not wanting him around.
By the start of the movie, Danny picks up football boots and cleans them as best he can. We find them later wrapped up as a gift to his son, who still has the naiveté of small children, and doesn’t look to know where they were bought or which brand made them, a reminiscence of sweeter and less consumerist Christmases. These scenes mark that McQuillan is a competent drama writer, which is enhanced by the talented child actor.

The revenge thriller aspect is evident in the behaviour of the hoodlums and the skill of director Mark O’Connor, who is also a co-writer, having experience in capturing Dublin’s underbelly, as seen in ‘Cardboard Gangsters’. The cinematography proves to be an asset as the night colours and shades become characters in the picture, and the camera shoots the characters as wolves hunting after dark, adding another dimension to the city and distinguishing it from the dullness of daytime Dublin.

Although there are criminal elements and activities during daytime with drug dealing, threats and stalking, it is at night that punishment comes not sparing neither the bad, the good, nor the innocent, which, allied with the cast, makes these characters more believable. Gillen’s Power could be a descendant of Littlefinger with a larger-than-life bravado and dog-hating tendencies, but the underworld of capital cities around the globe has tales that are too outlandish for the ordinary person to believe, but not for those used for police reports or investigative journalism. Power is a small kingpin who got high on his own delusions, which makes him unhinged.

‘Amongst the Wolves’ delivers what is expected of a revenge thriller by its satisfying ending scenes, as Danny shows veteran combat expertise and strategy, delivering violence to those who perpetrated it against what was once a peaceful community. It is also through this performance that the main character, who seemed like an everyman at the beginning of the story, shows how capable those who go through military service can be, while not forgetting issues like PTSD, depression, anxiety, and being forsaken by a nation after bleeding for it. ‘Amongst the Wolves’ has more depth than usually seen in revenge thrillers or VOD products and is a valuable step for the writer and actor who is McQuillan.

The post Review: ‘Amongst the Wolves’ – Gritty Irish Revenge Thriller Roars in Dublin’s Shadows appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Spoiler Warning – huge spoilers for 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later

Rage

In the first scene of the first film, it is stated that the infection is rage. In an effort to understand then deal with rage, anger and the bad impulses of humanity, scientists have “infected” monkeys with rage. As is the way with such things in films, the safety precautions of the lab are breached and the infection gets out. The Infected are humans who are driven purely by anger and malice, charging headlong at any people with a desire to destroy and/or infect. They cannot communicate and are incapable of carrying out anything but the most basic actions. This and their ability to infect others is what has prompted many to describe them as “zombies”. When Jim, the central character of 28 Days Later, awakens from a coma into this new horrible world, he is very confused (and scared). One of the first non-infected he meets is Selena, who advocates doing only what will help you survive. Their encounter with a group of British soldiers does not lead to a better life, nor does it improve their opinions on other survivors.

Duty

The opening scene of 28 Weeks Later is certainly the high-point of the film. A small group of survivors are taking refuge in a country house, including Don and his wife Alice. When their house is overrun, Don tries to get his wife to safety, while Alice focuses on saving a child. Alice runs upstairs and is cornered by the infected, closely followed by Don, who looks at the seemingly impossible situation and runs, abandoning his wife, whom he assumes – with good reason – will die or become infected, and it would have been virtually impossible to save her. Later, Don is reunited with his children to whom he tells a variation of that story in which he saw their mother die. But she didn’t die. Alice is immune to the infection, but is a carrier. She survived and was later found by the children. Obviously, this creates a rift between Don and his children as they question his version of events. Much of this film is about duty – Don’s duty to his wife, to his children. Doyle, an American sniper, has to choose between his duty to the army and not shooting uninfected children. It should be stated that Doyle’s choice of kindness to those children will lead to the deaths of far more people.

Love

28 Years Later has genuinely one of the most moving scenes I’ve seen in a long time. In 28 Years Later, a group of survivors on Holy Island carry on despite the devastation to the UK. The film revolves around Spike, a 12-year-old boy, who is being taken to the mainland for the first time with his father, in part to scavenge but also as a rite of passage. They make it back more or less successfully. We also learn that Spike’s mother, Ilsa, is seriously ill with an undiagnosed condition (undiagnosed as there are no doctors), and when Spike learns of a doctor on the mainland, he disobeys all the rules and takes his mother to the doctor. Let alone that the mainland is extremely dangerous, let alone it is just Spike and Isla, let alone that Spike learned of the doctor it is through a horror story of a crazed doctor who collected bodies and burned them.

It turns out Dr Kelson, as is his name, is not crazy. He is surprisingly normal and indeed is a medical doctor. He has spent the past 28 years building a memorial to the dead, burning their bodies, collecting their skulls, and adding them in a vast monument, not of terror, but as a mark of respect. He describes it as a memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning “remember you will die” – not as a horrific prophecy but to appreciate life as it is finite. The skulls are of both the infected and non-infected as he sees them all as equally human (many people in the world do not see it this way). When it comes to Isla without medical equipment, he makes a rudimentary diagnosis of a brain tumour and she does not have long to live. She chooses to die painlessly now, and Dr. Kelson begins the process of reducing her body down to the bones. He presents the skull to Spike and asks him to add it to the memorial with the words memento amora, “remember to love”.

This is a film series that has spent the vast majority of its time on rage-infected “zombies” vomiting blood onto people and beating them to death. But the defining moment of the third film is reminding the characters and the audience of the importance of loving other people, and this is a staggering, almost unbelievable achievement. It is a heartbreakingly beautiful scene. The death that brings this to us is not from the infected but a medical condition, something familiar to the audience. It may be sad, but it is not terrible. She is not alone. The towers of skulls are featured prominently in the posters for the film and certainly project them as a sign of death and horror, but in the film, they symbolise death and love.

There is perhaps another reason 28 Years Later had such an impact on me – the survivors are on Holy Island, in the north-east of England, where I am from. Normally, if you hear the accents from this area in a film, it is about striking miners. Spike refers to Isla “me mam” or “my mum” as much of England might say, and it is exceedingly rare to hear something like this in media.

But local resonance aside, Danny Boyle creating a zombie film with the audience coming away thinking about love is achieving the almost impossible. 28 Years Later Part 2 comes out next year.

The post Danny Boyle’s 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later: Horror, Duty and a Final Act of Love appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

From Personal Struggle to National Community

Founder Scott Whitney became disabled overnight in 2020 and, after his FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) diagnosis, launched All 4 Inclusion in 2022 to tackle isolation in the disability community. What began as a single peer-support group has grown into a vibrant online network offering photography, art, poetry, quizzes and more—each designed to connect, uplift, and empower participants.

Innovative Services & Programmes

All 4 Inclusion’s Disability Awareness sessions bring expert speakers with lived experience to schools, businesses, and events, fostering empathy and practical understanding. Their Inclusion Awareness talks further challenge audiences to build equitable spaces, while Motivational Speaker engagements share stories of overcoming adversity to spark resilience. Each service is fully customisable and rooted in real-life insights that drive action and change

Building Bridges Through Dialogue

Loneliness affects four times more disabled adults than non-disabled peers and can lead to serious mental-health consequences. By hosting free webinars, group forums, and a bi-weekly podcast, All 4 Inclusion provides safe, inclusive spaces where participants can share experiences, learn practical coping strategies, and form lasting friendships

A Vision for an Inclusive Future

Guided by the social model of disability—which asserts that societal barriers, not impairments, disable us—All 4 Inclusion’s mission is to expand its online community and reach every corner of the UK. Their values of person-centred support, collaboration, and empowerment ensure that every initiative puts the individual’s ambitions and well-being first.

Fighters is released in UK cinemas from Monday 23rd June.

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YouTube

Perhaps the first option that everyone will think of. YouTube, as a platform, attracts a great number of short filmmakers because of its global reach and popularity. Although the YouTube algorithm is more geared towards headline-grabbing content, meaning short films are unlikely to be initially recommended to users, the platform’s ubiquity means audiences are most likely to discover short films by using YouTube. 

Vimeo

Despite in some ways being quite similar to YouTube, Vimeo has done a lot to differentiate itself, particularly by appealing to filmmakers. One point against Vimeo is that to get the most out of the platform (including access to its best tools and more video upload space), filmmakers must pay for subscription plans. However, Vimeo also offers higher-quality video output, along with more customisation and privacy options for filmmakers to utilise branding and protect their work. The site is also more specifically focused on courting a viewer base interested in short films. For example, the platform has partnered with the European Film Academy. In doing so, it created a curated collection of high-quality shorts for viewers to watch. It’s a platform that is more centred on filmmaking than general video content.

Klipist

Essentially, Klipist is the Netflix of short films. The site has a good library of modern shorts that viewers can watch for free without adverts. Klipist also allows filmmakers to submit their projects to the service. In addition, links on each film’s page allow viewers to learn more about the film’s production and crew. The asking price for submissions of shorts is fairly steep. But, as a platform intended to foreground the prestige that short films are capable of and encourage viewers to learn more about the people making them, it is quite a good resource for short filmmakers.

Filmd

This platform is probably the most unique of all the resources listed here. Acting as a platform for film workers to interact with each other and seek out job opportunities, Filmd also allows film workers to upload their work. Through its Screening Room feature, other workers are encouraged to watch and provide feedback on a library of primarily short films. Again, subscription fees prevent the full utilisation of the platform for smaller creators. That said, it has the potential to be a great tool for encouraging artistic development, especially for those making shorts.

Streaming Platforms

Beyond platforms that are useful for both uploading and watching short films, they have become a much more accepted presence on streaming services in recent years. Among the major streaming platforms, MUBI and BBC iPlayer are likely the most underappreciated. Both provide a great space for short films to be considered alongside features. With a great variety and quantity of films available on their platforms.

These are merely a few resources that demonstrate the greatness of short films and encourage short filmmakers to showcase their work. If you take anything away from this article, let it be this: the world of short films is as vast and rich as longer-form movies. It deserves to be appreciated and nurtured just as much.

The post Great Homes For Short Films appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Sinners

As I write this, Sinners is 2025’s highest-grossing original film. It’s also written and directed by Ryan Coogler, one of Hollywood’s most revered and popular recent directors. That said, being popular doesn’t stop Sinners from being a cult film in the making. Like many cult films, Sinners constantly shakes things up with different genre elements. One minute it’s a 1930s gangster story crossed with a fun hangout movie, the next it’s a full-blooded horror film. All while peppering in a cast of brilliant characters, songs and musical numbers, and deep thematic topics. Such as cultural legacy, appropriation, ingrained power structures and America’s racism. Modern big-budget films are rarely this audacious. Considering Sinners’ success seemingly has studios spooked, we may not see another huge film this unique for a while. That’s why this film is destined for cult stardom. It’s too special and significant not to inspire a legion of fans.

I Saw the TV Glow 

Many cult films also speak to marginalised experiences, particularly LGBTQ+ audiences. This is where I Saw The TV Glow slots in. Its discussion of how media provides great outlets for young people to express themselves, along with its difficult but important discussion of how hard it is to break free from an identity that society expects of you and that you have internalised, holds particular resonance for trans audiences. Plus, it’s framing through a lens of 90s and early 2000s nostalgic memory and heavy psychological horror gives I Saw The TV Glow a distinct style and feeling. These elements and the film’s bittersweet message at such a horrendous time for trans people will ensure a devoted following.

Polite Society

Smaller action films are also prime targets for cult status, especially if they have an instantly iconic main character. Polite Society centres on Ria, a British-Pakistani teenager aiming to become a stunt performer. When her beloved sister, aspiring artist Lena, unexpectedly gets engaged, Ria tries to sabotage their relationship. Slowly, she discovers a dark plot involving cloning that will require all her skills to overcome. A loving ode to sisterly love, with two fantastic central characters, that surreally mixes martial arts and sci-fi trappings into a grounded family drama, Polite Society has all the right ingredients to become a fixture of playground conversations for a new generation of off-kilter action fans.

The Tales From Pandora’s Box Series 

Another proud cult film category is the so bad it’s good film. Tales From Pandora’s Box is a horror and sci-fi anthology trilogy with the same charm as The Room. The filmmaker clearly had big ideas for the stories, but a lack of budget and no care given to film production basics make the final products feel incredibly amateur. When the films feature an astounding amount of out-of-place nudity, hilariously bad dialogue, use of still images to transition between stories, the same actors popping up again and again, Windows Movie Maker transitions, and more, it’s impossible not to laugh a little. These films could definitely become Halloween roasting rituals for drunken friends.

Stopmotion

Cult films are also known for how they experiment with cinema as a medium. Stopmotion’s blend of live-action and animation is an unnervingly impressive reminder of how great smaller-budget genre films can be. Additionally, it has some hard-to-watch effects work, a layered story about the creative process and Aisling Franciosi’s outstandingly raw lead performance. While Stopmotion should be held in higher regard, it will undoubtedly become a future cult favourite.

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Satire is supposed to highlight the idiocies, hypocrisies and flaws of those in power using comedy, often with comedic exaggeration, to make these points and when done well, can be a powerful force in shaping public opinion. How did this film shape public opinion? It is hard to say, especially from 2025, but the Cold War did not end in nuclear armageddon, so there’s that. Moreover, any reference to nuclear weapons and nuclear war will trigger the absurdity of Dr. Strangelove in the minds of those in the audience. Politicians who wanted to increase the nuclear arsenal of America to add a few more thousand warheads would be confronted with pushback influenced by Dr. Strangelove.

Satire To Bring About Change

Don’t Look Up is a comedy written and directed by Adam McKay in which scientists discover a planet-destroying asteroid is heading towards Earth, and their struggles to be heard and when they are heard, for action to be taken. The film is shot through with criticism of the media – who at first treat the impending disaster as some kind of puff piece; incompetence in government with the president played by Meryl Streep portrayed as an idiotic, vain and selfish leader; and tech billionaires with Mark Rylance playing such a figure who wants to manipulate the situation for his own benefit and is utterly consumed by arrogance and hubris. The film is very clearly about climate change; it is not especially subtle, but it doesn’t seem like McKay was trying to be. Part of the problem of Don’t Look Up is the idea that despite the fact that the danger has been pointed out and more or less understood and accepted, nothing is being done, the message has not motivated change, and how will the film do that? Part of McKay’s solution to this seems to be simply abandoning being subtle. Did Don’t Look Up shape public opinion? This seems mixed; it was very successful but likely preaching to the converted, but one thing it did perhaps achieve by its intentional lack of subtlety was to try and drive home the drastic nature of the climate change problem.

Satire To Learn From The Past

Death of Stalin is a film by one of Britain’s greatest comedy writers and political satirists, Armando Iannucci, who has been involved in The Day Today, Alan Partridge, The Friday Night Armistice, The Thick Of It, In The Loop and Veep. The film is based on a comic loosely based on the death of Joseph Stalin and the turmoil that followed as various people tried to scheme their way to power. The Death of Stalin is not exactly trying to satirise Stalin and his government, after all he’s been dead for 70 years, but rather show the ridiculousness of power and tyranny. How the genuinely terrifying dictators are also stupid people who did stupid things. In the film, Stalin lies for hours after having a stroke with no medical assistance, despite people hearing him collapse, as they are all too scared to enter his office. And even when the other soviet leaders find him, they want to be quorate before they vote on calling a doctor, and even then…most of the medical establishment was caught in Stalin’s purges. It also shows how the seemingly invincible can be brought down spectacularly quickly. Beria, as head of the security services, was poised to take over, but instead was arrested and shot within minutes.

Satire To Bring Down The Powerful

A recent Oscar contender was The Apprentice, a satire about Donald Trump, but not President Trump, the much younger real estate businessman being mentored by right-wing demagogue Roy Cohn. Presumably, the film is a contest about who can be the most objectionable person in America. It has often been said that Trump is beyond satire, and perhaps this is why this satire didn’t focus on his recent political career but on his earlier business career. Is Trump’s political career unsuitable for satire? After all, this was a person whose right-hand man organised a press conference about how the election was “stolen” at Four Seasons Total Landscaping opposite an adult book store rather than the Four Seasons hotel. That is beyond Spinal Tap levels of ridiculous incompetence, and perhaps how every music documentary since This Is Spinal Tap has had to make sure they didn’t have a Spinal Tap moment, every filmmaker wanting to make a satire about Trump with have to wrestle with the problem of using comedic exaggeration against a man who long ago passed any imagined exaggeration. How did it shape public opinion? It will be very interesting to see how/if it does. Most people are in very definitive camps regarding Trump, but it is possible this film could successfully change how Trump’s business career is seen. His supporters will often say he is a billionaire businessman, obviously, he knows what he is doing, could this undermine the foundations of his supposed brilliance?

The post Why Political Satire Remains Crucial in 2025 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

In this article, we will examine what his administration has done to roll back protections for marginalised people. We will also unpack what these actions could mean for the entertainment industry and its workers.

Eroding Work Protections

In January, Trump signed three executive orders. These orders mainly focused on rolling back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes. Along with affirmative action and protections for trans people. High, Jordan and Ostrager note that though the orders were aimed mainly at federal agencies, they instruct agencies to make “reports identifying…private sector companies with the most ‘egregious and discriminatory’ DEI programs.” Along with “potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations and large non-profits.” Meaning they will have wide-reaching effects.

What This Means

These orders are meant to send the message that measures being taken to protect and cultivate better working environments for marginalised people and address systemic hiring biases that often disadvantages people who are marginalised because of, “their race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” will be vilified by the Trump administration. Companies that voice inclusive policies even face potential legal action. Meaning this is being done to create an intimidating environment for marginalised people. Crucially, although these orders frame themselves as anti-discriminatory, the ACLU says these orders “weaponize civil rights laws’ to reverse decades of progress for women, people of color and for all communities.”

Company-implemented programmes around diversity measures have been criticised for how businesses often use them to whitewash their image over taking concrete steps to address company discrimination. However, they still help many marginalised people. These orders aim to destroy even these small protections that make businesses consider their hiring practices, employees’ talents and well-being.

How Companies Are Responding

Big media companies like Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Disney and Amazon have already changed their policies significantly. Amazon excluded a section from a 2024 report that indicated the company was focused on “diversity and inclusion in hiring”. They also said they are “winding down outdated programs and material,” relating to DEI initiatives. Disney is changing its Disney+ content warnings, shifting its “talent strategy” to centre on business outcomes over fostering diversity and inclusion, and closing a website celebrating the contributions of underrepresented voices at the company. Paramount has rolled back its targets to attract more diverse employees and has removed website content speaking to DEI initiatives. WBD are also changing their language to revolve around “inclusion”. In addition, it is making its application process “uniform and consistent”.

Many of these companies are trying to make it clear that they still value diverse perspectives and inclusive environments. That said, these measures, coupled with Amazon creating content around the Trump family and WBD having reportedly had similar suggestions made, Paramount’s potential merger on the way, and Disney pulling content featuring diverse characters, indicate these companies are just trying to garner favour from the Trump administration to protect their financial interests. All while trying to hold onto marginalised audiences and workers, despite capitulating to policies made to make them feel unwelcome.

The Future

We will have to wait and see how these orders affect the whole American film industry, as well as the film industry broadly and if workers and companies will fight these orders. However, these actions also reiterate a dark truth. The film industry has long dragged its feet on improving on-screen and behind-the-scenes representation. Now that high-profile companies have retreated from commitments to diversity and protecting marginalised groups, it has the potential to alienate diverse creatives from the entertainment industry further. Thereby depriving them of a voice within culture and their workplace. Plus, if these companies bow to pressure, the number of productions pandering to the Trump administration will undoubtedly rise over the next few years. Which will serve to normalise its hateful rhetoric. For that, these companies should be ashamed.

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Stellar Artistry

It cannot be underestimated how integral the show’s craftsmanship is to its popularity. One of the series’ most awe-inspiring elements is how each episode unfolds in one continuous take. It is an amazing technical feat that provides immediacy to the story. The direction of the camera and the actors, with everything flowing smoothly in real time, gives viewers the sense that they are locked into the narrative until the end. It also instils the feeling that this story’s subject matter should not be turned away from. 

The inability to cut away also means the actors must embody their characters for much longer than expected on TV shows. Thereby making them feel less like constructions for the screen and more like real people.

Where a conventional approach may have made Adolescence seem like just another TV drama, the show’s focus on crafting authenticity and immediacy gives the subjects discussed the weight they deserve.

Pressing Issues

Adolescence has also struck a nerve because it is one of the highest-profile projects to highlight the real-world concerns around online misogyny culture.

The show uses the actual terminology and symbols of misogynistic online circles e.g. the red pill, the 80/20 rule, incels etc. even name dropping Andrew Tate, to make the story feel realistic. It also highlights the gulf between young people and their guardians on this issue. The boys are all immersed in internet culture. They encounter manosphere content just by being online. Several even feel comfortable expressing the manosphere’s sexist attitudes openly. This correlates with studies saying many young people have heard of people like Andrew Tate. With a not insignificant number admitting they agree with his horrendous views. Meanwhile, the adults are always on the back foot. Many are trying to understand something they have little experience with. Even those who understand have trouble combating the message’s impact due to social media’s prevalence. Something many parents and teachers are concerned about. 

And as the show discusses, the unchallenged proliferation of this content can have horrendous consequences. The 2024 Killings of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt, the Plymouth 2021 shooting, and the 2014 Isla Vista killings all show how internet misogyny culture can contribute to violence.

It Takes A Village

But what elevates Adolescence is that, beyond highlighting the dehumanising, dangerous misogyny growing online, its effects on young minds and older people’s inexperience with the internet hindering potential help, it shows how other things contribute to Jamie’s radicalisation and his murder of classmate Katie.

Jamie’s parents don’t frequently check in on him, and his dad is often away due to work. Meaning he lacks parental guidance. His school’s staff are stretched to breaking point, causing young people to slip through the cracks. Toxic masculinity is also shown to be fully normalised offline. DI Bascombe is indifferent to guns being pointed in innocent people’s faces, and male teachers shout at kids rather than trying to engage with them. Boys ruthlessly mock or turn away in shame when boys show anything perceived as weakness. As Jamie’s unfortunate football story illustrates. Plus, girls/women are often viewed antagonistically for not letting boys do what they want. Teachers are insulted, and Katie is viewed negatively for rebuffing Jamie.

Systemic and cultural factors also help create an environment where Jamie is made to feel isolated and resentful, particularly towards women. Making him a prime target for online misogynistic indoctrination.

Conclusion

Adolescence is a brilliantly made, thoughtful show that highlights concerns of online misogyny leading to real-life harm in a way that rings true to viewers. However, the creators also know that solutions to this problem are not just down to individuals. Systemic change is also needed.

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